BALASORE: Teacher’s Day on Friday may bring misfortune to a lady teacher in Balasore district who has been accused of fracturing the left hand of an eight-year-old student, who is undergoing treatment.
While School and Mass Education Minister Debi Prasad Mishra has ordered an inquiry into the incident and asked the District Education Officer (DEO) to submit a report, police have started investigation following a complaint lodged by the student’s father.
Sources said in-charge headmistress of Mahisapata Jalakhatua Primary School Puspalata Das had allegedly beaten up Sudhanshu Bharati, a Class-III student of the school, leading to a fracture in his hand, on August 18.
Despite the State Government’s ban on corporal punishment, such an incident has once again exposed the torture inflicted on the students by the teachers in different schools.
Complainant Sudarshan Bharati alleged that the teacher thrashed his son when he was sitting on the table along with two other students. “He fell down from the table and fractured his left hand. He was rushed to Gopalpur primary health centre and later shifted to district headquarters hospital. When his condition did not improve, we took him to a private clinic in Cuttack,” he said.
During the treatment, Sudarshan said he had met the teacher and the school committee seeking financial help for the treatment. “But the teacher, instead of expressing sympathy, claimed that she did not do anything wrong. As I had to attend to my son at the clinic, I could not lodge an FIR immediately,” he said.
Following the order from the Minister, the DEO has conducted an inquiry and submitted a report to the Government. A member of Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (OSCPCR) Rajendra Meher also visited the student and the school on Thursday.
Meher said it could not be established that the student’s hand was fractured by the teacher. “But it is a fact that the incident happened on the school premises and the school authority did not inform their higher officials,” he added.
IIC of Khantapara police station Shankarsan Dalei said a case under Section 325 of IPC (assault leading to fracture) has been registered against the teacher and investigation is on.